carleton

Ride on the tops as you start off then slowly add one hand at a time to the drops. Even for veterans, it's a careful process.

TurtleRacer

How do you fit your track bikes? I've seen a lot of guides online for general bike fitting (torso angles, knee angles, etc.) - but it's all road/touring/triathlon oriented. Do the "rules" of road bike fit apply to track bikes? My inclination is to say no (based on the difference in speed, duration, and purpose).

gtrob

I use the general rules for the seat height (so get a fitter to measure knee angles in the bottom stroke). After that its all trial and error for me. I find seat back position and bar height are a bit different from my road setup.

For my pursuit fit its mostly the same. Since the bike handles so different at the track in aero bars vs on the road, I don't think you can take the same fit and apply it necessarily. At the same time, comfort goes out the window more or less as long as I don't lose power, since at most I only have to spend a few minutes in the position.

queerpunk

Rules of road bike fit don't even apply to road bikes. They're all starting places and rules of thumb. A good fitter might start with some of those rules, but know how to change them up as different situations and needs dictate.

Anyway, I like to start with a road-oriented fit, and then bring the saddle forward and up a bit. This tends to help me spin and jump; a lower and further back position for the road is better for lower cadences.

Maybe I'll do a cm shorter on the stem, but the saddle position tends to bring my reach a little bit closer. I go a hair lower, too - not much all things considered.

It winds up being a pretty road-esque position, but a hair more aggressive. As an enduro it's a pretty easy setup. Sprinters have more significant departures from road fit.

carleton

You are exactly right about speed, duration, and purpose.

For me, it's been a lot of trial and error.

8bits

what is the best chain whip available? I had a generic ****ty one that I somehow lost and now I want a GREAT one, it makes all the difference

Brian Ratliff

Shimano track chainwhip. The key feature is the single length of chain coming from the nose of the whip. It wraps all the way around the cog and both gives the chain more leverage on the cog and keeps it from slipping. Don't get the other style where you have two lengths and the chain wraps only part way around the cog.

Good:


Bad:


The style with two chain lengths is for road bike cassettes. It doesn't work nearly as well for track cogs as the single length full wrap-around style.

8bits

Oh I know! The last one was this 2 piece style, it was horrible and not enough leverage.

Any one from NYC knows a store that stocks the Shimano chainwip? A friend of mine is there and he's willing to go to the store and pick one up for me

Murakami

Would Cinelli Ram bars be any good for enduro track riding? I'm using Cinelli Criteriums at the mo and want to upgrade, so just wondering.

queerpunk

handlebars are all about personal preference. some people are picky, some people aren't.

i'm picky but i wish i wasn't.

if i had one-piece handlebars/stem, i'd probably hate them because i wouldn't be able to tweak the angle of the bars. also, throughout the season, sometimes i get a bit more fit and put on a stem that's 5 or 10mm longer. sometimes i just get a hair more reach by rotating the handlebars.

the Ram makes this stuff impossible.

myth001

Aren't the ram bars for road only?
(e.g.: Handlebars - Road / Track | R&A Cycles)

I ride similar bars (Most Talon) and love them, but on road. Don't have experience on track, but I have always seen different styling on track bars.

carleton

Eh. I don't like the concept of uni-body stem bar combos.

1) They assume that you have a standard head tube angle. A road head tube angle.
2) You can't tweak the reach or stem angle.
3) There aren't any significant weight savings or stiffness improvements.

So, it's like buying a car where you can't adjust the seat forwards, backwards, up, or down. What are the chances that it's perfect for you?

Murakami

Thanks guys. It's off season here so haven't been on the track bike in awhile. Checked length and width and got all excited and forgot about angle. And I defintiely need some rise. Danke.

700wheel

Several riders at my local track use older Cinelli Criterium bars including me. My bars are from a bike used in the 84 Olympic road race. I've also seen them being used by the stoker on a track tandem.
Not very sexy these days but work for me.

Murakami

Agree, they're fine, but they look a little odd on a full carbon bike. That's all. I'll probably just get some simple alu bars instead.

700wheel

Cinelli recently started offering the Criterium bars again in widths down to 40 cm - price $65.00. I also see they offer Pista bars down to 40 cm width.

Today I got the idea to paint my bars to improve their look.

Brian Ratliff

I've got a set on my training fixie. Only problem is they are't the stiffest bar in the world. If you are going to use road bars on the track, I highly recommend PRO VIBE 7S bars. They come in three different sized bends and they keep the clamp diameter out to the bend, so they are quite stiff. That said, unless you are sprinting, have a super stiff bar is not really that necessary. My "mass start" bar (compact bend so I can sit a bit more upright) is pretty flexy, which actually helps absorb some shock on our bumpy track and keeps my hands from going numb.

Quinn8it

Cinelli Criterium is nearly identical to the Nitto 125 which is stiffer in its aluminum version, way stiffer in its Steel version, and available down to 36cm

MarkWW

Anybody heard about a race schedule for Forest City this winter? I figured it would have been out by now.

gtrob

Racing will not be happening at FCV this winter. Likely will have a christmas camp as usual.

There will be an ontario-cup race in...february I think, at Milton (if you cross at Buffalo this is an hour closer for you, just south of Toronto). Nationals Jan3-6 (im pretty sure Americans can race, not medal), international challenge mid January (UCI CL1 event). Im going to push to get some racing going, at the very least some TT stuff. Its hard to get too involved when I want to race more than organize anything!


Unfortunately the focus is on Pan-am right now, it might not be until next winter when we get some regular racing going.

TurtleRacer

Do you reduce the pressure on your tubulars once you're done riding for the day (e.g. drop them to 80-90 psi until you're going to ride them next)? I remember reading that you should somewhere, but I can't figure what the reasoning would be.

gtrob

Ive heard the same, something about stretching I think. If you have a set that holds air well...and you get multiple seasons out of them...it makes sense I guess.

Velocirapture

That explains why my attempt to ride rollers in my pursuit bars was particularly unsuccessful!

MarkWW

Damn. I was looking forward to racing the CanAmQue again. I hear you on the troubles of trying to organize and race at the same time. I had to run state championships last year, which was a great way to ruin my chances of performing well.

MarkWW

My latex-tubed tubulars air down quick enough that I don't bother to drop the pressure on them. I'll air down my butyl contis. I mostly do it to lower chances of a blow-out in transportation, but I've heard those tales about the casing stretching, too.